Unauthorized dispensing of beverages is a recurring problem in food and beverage establishments. This unauthorized dispensing typically means lost profit to the establishment owner because the dispensing is usually done after operating hours.
The beverages usually dispensed without authorization are alcoholic beverages. For safety, productivity, liability and cost reasons, owners of food and beverage establishments have a need for a means to prevent unauthorized dispensing of beverages, particularly alcoholic beverages.
Securing beverage bottles is simple as the bottles can be placed in a closet, cabinet, drawer or such and locked. However, faucets which dispense beverages, such as draft beer, wine, soda and the like, are not easily secured.
There are very few locking devices for beverage faucets available and the available devices have many limitations. Presently, there is one popular device known as a beer faucet lock manufactured by Perlick, 8300 Good Hope Road, Post Office Box 23098, Milwaukee, Wis. 53223, which is used for securing beverage faucets, particularly draft beer dispensing faucets. The prior art beer faucet lock consists of a tamper proof lock and a steel locking hasp which is adjustable to fit different brands of beer faucets. The beer faucet is secured by tightening the adjustable locking hasp against the base of the dispensing faucet knob so that the knob cannot be moved, thereby preventing the dispensing of beer from the faucet.
The effectiveness of the prior art beer faucet lock is limited. A considerable amount of force must be applied to the lock in order to tighten the lock against the base of the dispensing knob, thereby preventing movement of the knob. The tightening is done with the lock key by inserting the key in the lock cylinder and then rotating the key until the back of the lock is nestled tightly against the base of the dispensing knob. Application of the requisite force to tighten the lock against the dispensing knob typically results in the key breaking off inside the lock. Obviously, this undesirable result makes the lock useless until the broken key is removed. Also, a new key must be acquired in order to be able to operate the lock again. In the meantime, an inoperable lock which is attached to the faucet prevents dispensing of fluid and creates an inconvenience to the establishment until the problem can be corrected.
Furthermore, the prior art beer faucet lock consists of a lock and a key for which there are only two, universal key options. A key to the lock can be reordered when a key breaks, but, as mentioned, there are only two, universal key options from which to chose, a pre-April 1992 or a post-April 1992 key. Since the prior art beer faucet lock is popular and prevalent, it is feasible that unauthorized personnel have ready access to these two key options and, therefore, have access to the faucet.
Additionally, the popular prior art beer faucet lock is inadequate and does not entirely prevent the dispensing of fluid from the faucet. Even when the prior art beer faucet lock is installed properly on the faucet, the knob can still be operated enough to permit some fluid to be dispensed from the faucet, thus defeating the purpose of the lock.
The prior art beer faucet lock is also awkward to use. For multiple faucets in close proximity to each other it is difficult for the lock operator to maneuver around the faucets so that the prior art beer faucet lock can be adequately secured. Also, one lock commonly obstructs installation of another lock while the lock operator tries to tighten the lock.
The prior art also discloses a lock box for an appliance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,993, by Stubbings for a "Lock Box", issued Nov. 22, 1977, generally discloses a lock box for an appliance, particularly a citizen's band radio. The radio is placed within the box which is then locked. However, this lock box is constructed so that the controls may be accessed while the radio is in the box and the box is permanently mounted with prison type screws to a support structure, particularly an automobile. These two features of the prior art lock box are directly contrary to those of the locking device of the present invention which denies all access to the appliance within it and which is easy to attach to and remove from the appliance or faucet encompassed by it. Accordingly, the locking device of the present invention has many advantages that overcome the deficiencies and disadvantages of the prior art locks.